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Dilhara Fernando reported a suspicious approach to the Sri Lanka team management that was in turn reported to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), the Sri Lanka board has said

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2010Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando reported a suspicious approach to the Sri Lanka team management that was in turn reported to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), the Sri Lanka board has said. The incident is among those reported by ESPNcricinfo to have taken place over the past year.The ACSU’s investigators met Fernando in May 2009, while in Sri Lanka to interview players regarding the terrorist attack on their team bus in Lahore earlier that year.”During their visit to Sri Lanka, Dilhara Fernando voluntarily reported a suspicious approach to the team management, and it was immediately referred to the ICC Anti Corruption Unit who in turn carried out a regulation interview with Dilhara,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement.Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain, said that Fernando “should be applauded for following the rules” and alerting the Sri Lanka authorities.The SLC said it hadn’t received any further communication regarding the issue. “The interviewing of players after the reporting of suspicious approaches is standard practice and the above-mentioned cricketer followed the correct protocol. The Anti-Corruption Unit then followed their normal protocol and launched an investigation. We can confirm that no further information has been provided to us with regard to this incident or player that necessitates any action or raises any concern.”ESPNcricinfo had reported on September 10 that possibly more than one Sri Lankan cricketer had been approached by suspicious persons on more than occasion over the last year and a half. One such instance happened during the World Twenty20 in England.

MS Dhoni was running out of reasons to explain his team’s problems as their World Twenty20 hopes were left hanging by a thread, but Chris Gayle suggested it was a mental issue for the batsmen

Andrew McGlashan in Bridgetown09-May-2010India won’t be sad to wave goodbye to Barbados after an uncomfortable time against pace bowling. MS Dhoni was running out of reasons to explain his team’s problems as their World Twenty20 hopes were left hanging by a thread, but Chris Gayle suggested it was a mental issue for the batsmen.India now need a victory against Sri Lanka to retain any hope and even that might not be enough. As ever the scrutiny on the Indian team is huge and the problems of the top order are being dissected, especially as only a few weeks ago many of these batsmen were plundering runs at the IPL.Suresh Raina brought his form to this tournament and began with 101 off 60 balls against South Africa, but that was on a much slower surface in St Lucia. Unlike at the IPL there has been no let-up in the quality of bowling in Barbados, and India haven’t been able to cope against Australia or West Indies.”The IPL is a very different from international cricket. You have four foreigners and don’t have always the best bowling attack, you have to keep your side balanced,” Dhoni said. “Most of the sides have maybe one bowler who bowls really good, really quick, but apart from that you try to target the weak links.”But in international cricket most of the sides have got at least three bowlers, you can maybe target one or at the most two [bowlers]. I think the IPL is very different, it would be unfair to compare the IPL to international cricket. We are on the losing side and that’s the fact right now.”India’s frustrations threatened to boil over when Rohit Sharma questioned the caught decision against him and signalled for the umpire to check the TV replay. Billy Bowden stuck with his on-field call – the third official can only be used to determine a clean catch – and Sharma could be in hot water. Raina had earlier given a petulant display when he had an lbw appeal turned down which replays showed was easily missing leg stump.Gayle was always confident his team would be able to exploit the Bridgetown surface in their favour, even though it wasn’t the quickest pitch of the tournament. “They [India] are always going to be vulnerable against the short ball, every team has done it against them and it’s something they have to look at and try to prepare better,” he said.”They know that every team would bowl short at them so they just need to work on their mental game and back themselves. They are capable of handling it but maybe it is just a mental thing so if they can overcome that I’m sure they’ll be even more dangerous.”Gautam Gambhir, who was recently the No. 1 batsman in the world, was bounced out for the second game in succession when he received a brute from Kemar Roach and all West Indies’ seamers – even the medium-pacers Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo – banged the ball in the short. India knew they would face such a barrage, but, despite the forewarning, were still troubled.”It’s not something that has appeared all of a sudden. You are equipped to deal with it in this format as they bowl consistently short stuff at you but you have to keep scoring,” Dhoni said. “It’s not easy but as the players get more experience at international level they will groom themselves and be ready for the task. Quite a few players, I don’t think, have played this kind of bowling on this kind of track, we were slightly on the back foot but it’s only good for Indian cricket.”That last comment from Dhoni suggests that conditions back home in India are not preparing batsmen for the challenges of playing overseas. It was a hurdle that seemed to have been crossed during the last decade as performances away from home improved markedly, but a batting line-up without the experienced figures of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid is struggling to adapt.”We have prepared well,” Dhoni insisted. “We knew they would use short-pitched deliveries, we practiced against short-pitched deliveries in the net sessions but until you don’t face it in a game you are not match-aware of what is needed in that situation. You can do hundreds of things but when it comes to adaptation you have to be out in the middle and work it out, get a single, keep alternating the strike. If you keep backing off and keep playing the pull shot and people get out, it gets very difficult.”

Yorkshire have signed South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs as their second overseas player for the coming season’s Friends Provident Twenty20 competition.

Cricinfo staff22-Feb-2010Yorkshire have signed South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs as their second overseas player for the coming season’s Friends Provident Twenty20 competition.Gibbs will join up with the Yorkshire squad before the game against Durham Dynamos on June 10 and will be available to play in all of Yorkshire’s Twenty20 matches from then on.”I’ve always enjoyed playing cricket in the UK and have very good memories of Headingley as I got my first World Cup hundred there in 1999,” Gibbs told . “I’m really looking forward to playing over there and I’ll hopefully help to lead the troops towards some sort of success.”I think Twenty20 cricket is consistently the flavour of the month with regards to spectators, and the following worldwide has grown enormously over the last few years,” he added. “I’m still yet to get a hundred in Twenty20 cricket and I did promise myself that I’d get at least a few before I call it quits one day.”There are a lot of challenges that I’d still like to achieve and overcome, and I’m probably enjoying my cricket now more than ever before, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”Gibbs, who will have turned 36 by the beginning of the season, is a veteran of 90 Tests and 246 ODIs, and also has extensive experience in Twenty20 cricket, with 1627 runs in the format.He will join Ryan Harris, the Queensland and Australia allrounder who is also his Deccan Chargers teammate in the IPL, at the county, who have also signed Daryl Tuffey as early season cover for Harris.”Herschelle will add power, runs and experience to our batting line-up in this year’s T20 competition and he is also a fine fielder,” added Martyn Moxon, Yorskhire’s Director of Professional Cricket.”He’s a vastly experienced international cricketer with the ability to win matches on his own if he hits his best form. I’m looking forward to seeing him play for Yorkshire this year and I’m sure our members and supporters will enjoy Herschelle’s style of cricket too.”

Australia will be keen to experiment, with Green and Labuschagne coming in for Marsh and Smith; Pakistan will miss injured Shadab

Tristan Lavalette28-Mar-2022

Big picture

After a historic and much-hyped three-Test series, comprising 15 gruelling and emotionally charged days, the limited-overs leg of Australia’s tour of Pakistan can feel somewhat neglected by comparison. The anti-climax is heightened by a severely-weakened Australia, who are missing a slew of stars due to rest, injuries and personal reasons.While Australia will undoubtedly experiment and start underdogs against a formidable looking Pakistan, there is a lot on the line for both teams with the three ODIs part of the current World Cup Super League cycle.Related

• Smith ruled of limited-overs matches against Pakistan

• Injured Mitchell Marsh to miss opening ODI; Inglis tests positive for Covid

• Zampa not worried about three-month break

• Australia set to experiment in Pakistan for 2023 World Cup

Australia and Pakistan will look to make up ground amid increasingly rare ODI scheduling in another T20 World Cup year. Australia have won their three series played during the cycle, but sit seventh due to playing just six matches, while Pakistan are 10th after a 3-0 defeat to England in the UK in July in their last ODI hit out.Similarly, Australia last played an ODI against West Indies in July, and they have only played four ODIs overall since December 2020.As their 50-over droughts end, Australia and Pakistan will be keen to put their best foot forward with an eye towards a World Cup in India only 18 months away.

Form guide

Pakistan LLLWL (Last five completed matches; most recent first)
Australia WLWLW

In the spotlight

After a tough home summer, Aaron Finch has a chance to ease his pressure with a big series in Pakistan. Having memorably become the first Australian captain to lift the T20 World Cup trophy, a laboured Finch struggled through the season with a persistent knee injury during a lacklustre BBL and subsequent T20I series against Sri Lanka. The 35-year-old is keen to continue through to next year’s World Cup but his dip in form has raised eyebrows. Finch has not played an ODI since December 2020, but expressed confidence during his press conference on Monday of being able to slip back into the 50-over format comfortably enough. He will be relied upon to shore up Australia’s inexperienced batting order, and if he fires then that should quell simmering pressure over his position.Australia players train in the heat•Associated Press

Shaheen Shah Afridi lit up the Test series although didn’t quite get the reward for his toil on mostly stale pitches and against Australia’s experienced batting order. Without his new best buddy David Warner, along with Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell also missing, Australia’s top order appears a little shaky and ripe for Shaheen to crack open if he can get the white ball hooping around. He will be eager for a bounce back in ODIs having been expensive during the three-match series in South Africa and in the last ODI in England last year.

Team news

*Mitchell Marsh is going to miss the opening ODI due to a hip injury with emerging star Cameron Green set to be his replacement. Smith was earlier ruled out of the series due to an elbow injury, which could open the door for Test specialist Marnus Labuschagne to add to his 13 ODIs. Josh Inglis tested positive on Monday and will isolate for five days but that’s unlikely to change the team combination with Alex Carey set to keep wicket.Australia will experiment with the squad, including uncapped ODI players Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis and Mitchell Swepson.Australia (possible): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Ben McDermott, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Travis Head, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Ben Dwarshuis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Nathan EllisPakistan are likely to be without legspinner Shadab Khan for the opening two ODIs after he sustained a groin injury during the PSL. They have a strong squad, including a contingent who played in the Tests, but excluded former captain Sarfraz Ahmed and allrounder Imad Wasim. They included uncapped spinner Asif Afridi and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris after strong performances in the PSL, while an ODI debut for Abdullah Shafique, who starred in the Tests at the top of the order, could be forthcoming.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Abdullah Shafique 5 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 6 Mohammad Haris, 7 Faheem Ashraf,  8 Asif Afridi, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf

Pitch and conditions

On the back of the Test match, the pitch is expected to be dry and favouring batting although reverse swing could be a factor amid dewy conditions under lights. Very hot conditions are forecast in Lahore with a maximum temperature of 38 degrees.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have a commanding record against Pakistan in ODIs with 68 wins from 101 completed matches.
• On their last tour of Pakistan in 1998, Australia wrapped up a clean sweep of the three-match ODI series with a six-wicket victory in Lahore to complete the then second-highest successful chase in history. Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist scored centuries to lead Australia’s chase down of 316 with seven balls to spare.
• The world’s No.1 ranked ODI batter Babar Azam has a career average of 56.92 which is the fourth best of all time.*1210 GMT: The preview was updated after Cricket Australia issued a statement.

Investigating law firm says it is keen to hear from “anyone who has relevant information” about alleged racism

George Dobell09-Apr-2021Doubts have been raised over the value of Yorkshire’s investigation into allegations of racism made last year by former player Azeem Rafiq after witnesses complained they hadn’t been contacted.As part of the investigation, commissioned by Yorkshire in September and overseen by law firm Squire Patton Boggs, Rafiq’s legal team provided a bundle of evidence at the start of November. It contained the testimonies and contact details of around a dozen witnesses who claimed they had seen racist behaviour while working within the Yorkshire cricket environment.It now appears the majority of those witnesses have not heard back from the investigating team. Among those potential witnesses are two former Yorkshire players, two former county age-group coaches (one of whom says he was told not to select “too many Pakis” in Yorkshire age-group teams), a league umpire and a grassroots coach.Related

• Yorkshire promise independent review in wake of Rafiq claims

• Yorkshire to appoint head of equality in bid to boost inclusion

• Former Yorkshire employees describe experiences of racism

• John Holder sues ECB over alleged racial discrimination

A representative of Squire Patton Boggs told ESPNcricinfo: “The panel is very concerned to hear the allegation that several people came forward to offer evidence but ‘never heard back from the investigating team’.”We believe that we have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that we have spoken to everyone who has come forward, and we are certainly not aware that we have failed to respond to any such person.”The panel would welcome the opportunity to hear any further relevant evidence, including from anyone who has relevant information for the investigation but feels they have not been accorded the opportunity to present it.”Anyone with information that could help the investigation is urged to email [email protected] as a matter of urgency. The panel had originally hoped to report before the end of 2020.It has previously emerged that Roger Hutton, Yorkshire’s chair, used to work at Squire Patton Boggs.Earlier in the week Ajmal Shahzad, who played for Yorkshire alongside Rafiq, told the Press Association that his own experiences at the club “were always good.” Rafiq has claimed Shahzad was with him when a senior player said “there’s too many of your lot” in the team as they ran out at the start of a match.”I want to believe in this investigation,” Rafiq told ESPNcricinfo. “But when it seems your evidence is being ignored, it’s hard to retain confidence.”I don’t understand how this can have happened. If they are really serious about getting to the bottom of this problem, surely they would take the time to talk to all the witnesses?”The strain of the episode appears to be taking its toll on Rafiq. He was rushed to hospital last week after experiencing chest pains and is currently undergoing tests to ascertain the cause of the issue.

While Gregory destroyed a vaunted top order, Bazley held his nerve to steer the team home after a collapse

Alex Malcolm27-Dec-2020The fresh faces of Lewis Gregory and James Bazley helped the Brisbane Heat break through some nervous scar tissue and claim their first win over the season against the Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba.Gregory, in his first game out of quarantine after England’s tour of South Africa, claimed 3 for 22, dismantling the Hurricanes high-profile top-order, to help ensure the Heat were only chasing 149 to win.Sam Heazlett and Max Bryant blasted six sixes and four fours between them in a blistering 73-run stand to set the chase up before a trademark Heat meltdown had them staring down another humiliating defeat at 6 for 102. But despite D’Arcy Short’s brilliant spell of 3 for 18 and Riley Meredith taking two wickets in an over, Bazley showed no nerves on BBL debut, smashing 31 not out off 19 balls to guide his side home alongside skipper Jimmy Peirson.The Hurricanes loss was compounded with James Faulkner suffering a hamstring injury while bowling in the third over of the run chase.Malan changes the mix

The Hurricanes had started the season with three wins in four games without Matthew Wade or Dawid Malan. The arrival of the world’s No.1 ranked T20I batsman suddenly gave the Hurricanes an embarrassment of riches at the top of the order. Ben McDermott, who starred against the Renegades, opened for the first time in his T20 career but it didn’t go as smoothly as planned. He was dropped once before holing out to mid off for 16 off 14. Short started nicely though, striking four crisp boundaries and Malan looked as though 14-days of hotel quarantine had not affected the form he was carrying from South Africa. The Hurricanes were cruising at 1 for 52 after seven overs having hardly taken a risk.Good times for Gregory

Gregory nearly didn’t play for the Heat with concerns about his lack of bowling and conditioning during 14-days of quarantine in a hotel room. But he showed why he was such a prized signing with an outstanding three-over spell to see the Hurricanes slump to 4 for 77 after 12 overs. His mix of slower balls and on-speed deliveries with a similar action deceived the Hurricanes top order. Short and Malan both fell in the same fashion, miscuing short balls that hurried them. Handscomb was undone by a slower ball, picking out mid-off. Gregory took 3 for 11 in his first three overs. The Hurricanes then struggled at the back end of the innings. Colin Ingram and Tim David could not take advantage of the Power Surge with Mark Steketee and Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowling superbly. Jack Wildermuth also produced an excellent spell, including an outstanding penultimate over. Faulkner made 26 not out off 18 to lift the total to 7 for 148, but had the Heat not dropped two simple chances in the last three overs they may have been chasing less than 140.Bryant and Heazlett finally fire
Much has been expected from the dynamic young duo but they have had a poor tournament to-date. However, against one of the best fast bowling brigades in the BBL, they lit up the Gabba with a belligerent display of hitting. Bryant treated Faulkner and Scott Boland with disdain, thumping them down the ground. Heazlett then followed suit with two huge sixes over the leg side off Faulkner before he limped off four balls into his second over with a hamstring injury. They took 46 from the Powerplay without loss. Handscomb turned to teenage legspinner Wil Parker and his first over in BBL cricket went for 21 as the left-handed Heazlett deposited him into the midwicket crowd three balls in a row. The Heat were 0 for 67 after five overs needing less than a run-a-ball with 10 wickets in hand.Bazley the brave
Despite the amazing start, the Heat produced a trademark collapse that had the potential to cost them the game. Bryant casually flicked Nathan Ellis straight to a fielder which opened the door ajar and Short waltzed on through taking 3 for 18. He bamboozled Dan Lawrence before Heazlett needlessly lofted one straight to long off. Tom Cooper survived an lbw shout off Ellis, when ball-tracking had it crashing into middle and leg. But he wasn’t so fortunate facing Short. He thumped a drive flat back at the umpire and Short miraculously plucked it in his left hand to claim a stunning caught and bowled. Handscomb then called on Riley Meredith who took two wickets in three balls to leave the Heat 6 for 102 needing 44 to win with just two specialist batsmen remaining. Bazley held his nerve on debut alongside his skipper. The 25-year-old bravely launched Short over long on to relieve some pressure. He held out against the pace of Meredith before slashing him behind square and pulling him into the stands. Ellis missed his length with a slower ball and Bazley clubbed it over deep midwicket to ice the game.

Iqbal Qasim will take over the role as head of the PCB cricket committee, replacing Wasim Khan

Umar Farooq31-Jan-2020Nearly two months after Wasim Khan stepped down as head of the PCB’s cricket committee, the board recalled Iqbal Qasim back to the set-up to take over the key position. The panel is now entirely independent from figures that hold other roles in the PCB, with one exception – Urooj Mumtaz, the PCB women’s chief selector, is still a part. The other three members on the panel are Ali Naqvi, Umar Gul and Wasim Akram. Wasim Khan and Zakir Khan will serve as co-opted members, the PCB announced.The cricket committee has run into roadblocks right from the time it was formed in 2018. Akram’s inclusion in the committee was followed by PCB chairman Ehsan Mani turning his back on the Qayyum Report on match-fixing, which led to Akram being fined and censured, as well as removed from the Pakistan captaincy. A few of Mohsin Khan’s public statements also put the PCB in an awkward position, especially the scathing personal criticism he levelled at then head coach Mickey Arthur.ESPNcricinfo understands that PCB had begun to re-evaluate its decision to appoint Mohsin to the committee, and reportedly forbade him from making public statements – it didn’t stop him from calling for Sarfaraz Ahmed to be relieved of the Test captaincy. During this time, Mohsin headed three meetings but failed to develop any sort of consensus on any outstanding cricketing issue.After eight months – during which he presided over just those three meetings – Mohsin resigned from the committee for reasons he never made public, leading to Wasim Khan taking on the additional role of heading the committee.Qasim played 50 Tests and 15 ODIs for Pakistan, and as an administrator accumulated vast experience working as a director in the National Bank of Pakistan sports department before retiring in 2015. He has also been involved with the PCB in various roles, as team manager, chief selector and member of the domestic tournament monitoring committee.”I am pleased the PCB has considered me for this important assignment and will try to utilise all my cricket and corporate experience and knowledge in the successful delivery of my responsibilities,” he said after being given the new role. “The PCB Cricket Committee comprises members who are avid followers of the game, are on top of all matters related to the game in Pakistan and, therefore, with collective wisdom, will make recommendations that will help the PCB to improve its strategic direction.”The game belongs to the people of Pakistan and we all are equal stakeholders in this. I think anyone who thinks can make a positive and meaningful contribution to Pakistan cricket, should come forward and play an active part.”PCB has also increased the number of members in the committee from four to five, not including co-opted members. Gul replaced Misbah-ul-Haq – who, soon after applying for the Pakistan head coach job, resigned from the role. Naqvi is the fifth member, with the former Pakistan batsman presently a member of the PCB elite panel for match referees.”I welcome all the distinguished members in this PCB Cricket Committee and look forward to working with them,” Wasim Khan said. “I am delighted we have been able to put together a wide-ranging, knowledgeable, experienced and respected group whose commitment and involvement in the game is second to none.”These members are representatives of all key stakeholders within the game. More importantly, and in line with our policy, they are completely independent, which, in turn, will assist the PCB management to further improve the health of the game in Pakistan.”

Pakistan’s lower order wagged impressively, but Mitchell Starc took a six-wicket haul before the follow-on was enforced

The Report by Danyal Rasool01-Dec-2019Pakistan ended the third day needing 248 more runs simply to avoid an innings defeat, with the scorecard reading 3 for 39. However, they arguably won the day, and unarguably enjoyed their best one all tour as Yasir Shah produced one of the more unexpected Test centuries.That there’s no contradiction in those statements tells you much about how the previous two days might have gone. With Pakistan having bowled – and then batted – themselves out of any prospect of winning or probably drawing, they emerged unburdened from expectations and, for the first time, made Australia work for their wickets. Babar Azam agonisingly missed out on back-to-back hundreds by three runs, with the standing ovation the Adelaide Oval gave him suggesting they wouldn’t have begrudged him getting there.Yasir Shah brings up his maiden Test hundred•Getty Images

But for the faithful in Pakistan who rose early on a Sunday morning, the reward would come in the form of a deliciously insouciant maiden first-class century from Yasir, whose assured strokeplay did little to flatter his team-mates already back in the pavilion. Partnerships with Azam and Mohammad Abbas took Pakistan up to 300 in their first innings, before much of that good work was undone by yet another top-order capitulation. Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali and, most damagingly, Azam had all been dismissed in a rain-interrupted final session that keeps Pakistan on life support for one more day.The pitch appeared to have flattened out significantly from the previous evening, any hint of lateral movement having disappeared. Azam and Yasir found themselves more confident when driving on the up with little variable bounce to concern them. There was, perhaps, less intensity in the field from Australia, and an expectation (not exactly unreasonable) that Pakistan would just give up their wickets tamely. But Azam was digging in, as he always does, while Yasir had quickly realised batting here was much more fun than bowling, and determined to be remember in this game for all the right reasons.There was fortuitousness for the legspinner; he was missed on no less than three occasions – on 35 (a stumping), 43 (a dolly of a caught-and-bowled to Marnus Labuschagne) and 106 (another simple chance to Labuschagne at short leg) – while Steven Smith’s position at slip to Nathan Lyon meant a couple of potential chances fell short. But just when Azam began to take on Labuschagne and move inexorably towards three figures, one lapse in concentration would cost him. Mitchell Starc angled one across and Azam drove on the up, only to get an edge that would see Tim Paine take a sharp diving catch. In denying Azam his milestone, Starc got his: a five-wicket haul that would become six the very next delivery when he pinned Shaheen Afridi lbw.Mitchell Starc acknowledges his five-wicket haul•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

However, instead of folding, Abbas had some scores to settle, too. The sort of unfashionable patience and grit he reserves for his bowling came in handy with the bat as the scoreboard ticked over. Even as the new ball was taken, Abbas held firm, ensuring Yasir would be allowed to complete a remarkably unlikely century in a ninth-wicket stand of 87. Yasir looked for all the world to have scooped one to mid-on when one run short, but the ball went over, and Yasir roared exultantly.Much of the day had been dominated by speculation of when exactly it would rain and whether it would impact Paine’s decision to enforce the follow-on. With Pakistan having hung around longer than anticipated, Australia were expected to bat again, but with the evening session under lights looming Paine put Pakistan back in for a tricky four overs before the dinner break.It was too long for Imam, who failed to keep out a Josh Hazlewood inswinger on his ninth delivery. When Azhar nicked off to second slip soon after, moments before a cloudburst forced everyone off the field, the feel-good factor that had accompanied the wagging of the tail had long since evaporated.The rain came and went for much of that final session, but there was still time to deal the heaviest body blow to the solar plexus of the Pakistan line-up. It takes an exceptionally good delivery to leave Azam flat-footed, but that’s exactly what Hazlewood delivered with his slightly short length around off stump that drew the edge.Azam would be forced to trudge off for 8, the sixth time Hazlewood had dismissed him at the cost of just 69 runs. It might have been the cue for the rest of the side to begin packing their suitcases, but the rain ensured there is at least one more day before another sorry chapter can be added to the miserable book that chronicles Pakistan’s tours to Australia over the past quarter century.

Liam Livingstone was picked up in the £125,000 bracket, while Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga were overlooked

Alan Gardner20-Oct-2019There were big-name omissions, surprise picks and several bumper paydays for local players as the draft for the Hundred took place in London. Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan legspinner, was the first name selected in what is a ground-breaking exercise in British sport, while Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga were among the top-bracket overseas stars to be overlooked in the opening round.With England Test players and a pair of ‘local icons’ already selected earlier this month, the eight teams each had to fill 12 more spots in their squads for next year’s inaugural competition. The format allowed 100 seconds for the team management to settle on their choices, with the Trent Rockets kicking things off by taking Rashid.West Indies allrounder Andre Russell was second out of the hat, selected by Southern Brave, followed by Aaron Finch going to the Northern Superchargers and Mitchell Starc to Welsh Fire. Australia players were popular – the Future Tours Programme leaves them available for the whole of the Hundred – with Steven Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and D’Arcy Short all among those taken at £125,000 (USD161,000).ALSO READ: The Hundred draft – as it happened“It’s going to be exciting to be in the first ever hundred-ball comp,” Smith told Sky via a satellite link. “I’m looking forward to joining the Welsh Fire, Jonny [Bairstow] and Starcy and the boys there – it looks a good squad that they’ve picked up so far so I’m looking forward to it.”There were also eye-catching deals for domestic players, with Liam Livingstone picked up in the first round by Birmingham Phoenix – more than doubling his earnings after setting a £60,000 (USD78,000) reserve price – while the Manchester Originals went down the local route by taking Dane Vilas, Lancashire’s captain, for £125,000.The second round, with contracts pegged at £100,000 (USD129,000), saw young English batsmen Phil Salt and Tom Abell make their way north to Manchester, while World Cup winner Liam Dawson was signed to play at his local ground, the Ageas Bowl, for Southern Brave. England wicketkeeper Sam Billings was picked up by the Oval Invincibles and experienced allrounder Ravi Bopara went to Birmingham Phoenix.With overseas players unable to be purchased at below their base price, there were several notable omissions – perhaps influenced in part by availability. Alongside Gayle and Malinga, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada was overlooked in the £125,000 bracket, while the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Trent Boult missed out on the £100,000 slots.Shakib had been touted as a popular pick but Bangladesh’s programme of Tests against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in July and August next year rendered his availability uncertain; similarly, Babar Azam had entered with a £75,000 price tag after a finishing as the leading run-scorer in this year’s Blast, but is likely to be involved in Pakistan’s Test series against England.”Coming here I was confident that I would get picked up,” Russell said. “Not sure which team but I was confident. If I didn’t get picked up then I’d be surprised. But I’d understand that because you’ve got a lot of good players all around the world and they’re all here in the draft to be picked. With the likes of Chris Gayle, Bravo, Malinga and those guys that didn’t get picked up, I would have that feeling right now like them.”The draft took place in Sky’s west London complex, using a bespoke studio featuring eight three-man pods from which the teams could make their deliberations. The head coaches were all in attendance, accompanied in most cases by an assistant and the team’s analyst, with the early rounds concluded relatively quickly – few picks took anywhere near 100 seconds as the top targets were snapped up.The Hundred main draft picks•Getty Images

Darren Lehmann, head coach of the Northern Superchargers, was pleased to have got his top three picks – Finch, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Chris Lynn – while Shane Warne, his counterpart at London Spirit, said there had been a few “surprises” but he was happy with how things had panned out.”To have [Mark] Wood and [Mohammad] Amir as opening bowlers, the spin of Mason Crane, [Roelof] van der Merwe and Maxwell is pretty good, gives a lot of variety and we’ve got some guys that can bash it – and I think the Hundred is going to be about bashing it,” Warne said.With 96 picks to be made and 571 names in the draft, there were bound to be more losers than winners on the night. England quick Olly Stone missed out, having set a reserve price of £50,000 (USD65,000), as did former internationals such as Samit Patel, Steven Finn, Ian Bell and Morne Morkel, who was available as a domestic player via his Kolpak deal with Surrey.Other noteworthy picks included Essex’s Blast-winning pair of Simon Harmer and Ryan ten Doeschate going to Welsh Fire, where they will be joined by Liam Plunkett and Ravi Rampaul (but no Welsh players). Birmingham signed New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi – although his availability could also be in question – while Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi went to London Spirit. West Indies allrounder Fabian Allen won a deal at the Invincibles, and New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner heads to Manchester.There were some early trends that stood out. Southern Brave looked to stock up on pace, adding Russell, Tymal Mills and George Garton to the previously selected pair of Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan. Several teams picked along local lines – Trent Rockets going for Nottinghamshire pedigree in Steven Mullaney, Luke Fletcher, Matt Carter and Tom Moores, while the Superchargers added Durham bowlers Brydon Carse and Nathan Rimmington. Birmingham Phoenix left their choice of wicketkeeper until the final round, before picking up two in Riki Wessels and Chris Cooke.Manchester Originals, meanwhile, set their focus on the longer term, adding Salt, Abell, Joe Clarke, Ed Pollock and Ed Byrom to ‘local icons’ Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood – all of whom are 25 or under. Under the rules for the competition, up to 10 players will be allowed to be retained for the second season in 2021.”I really like the fact that the teams are planning for the future a lot. You look at our side, you’ve got a lot of guys that are in their young 20s,” said Jos Buttler, who was allocated to Manchester before the draft. “It’s fantastic to see all the coaches and staff look at it in that way rather than just the here and now.”You look at Saqib [Mahmood] and [Matt] Parkinson they could be Manchester Originals players for the next 10 years.”

A preview of the newly revamped Quaid-e-Azam trophy – Pakistan’s premier first-class competition

Umar Farooq24-Dec-2012Pakistan cricket history is as old as the country itself. The Quaid-e-Azam trophy – the country’s premier first-class competition – has been a testing ground for cricketers in the domestic circuit since 1953. This year, 14 teams including Bahawalpur will compete in a newly revamped structure and is a chance for players to impress ahead of Pakistan’s South Africa tour in January 2013.The new structure promises improved competition among evenly-matched teams. The new regional teams are allowed to recruit five players from the old department sides, of whom four can be part of the playing XI. The 14 regional teams have been divided into two groups of seven, with top four teams from each group progressing to the super-eights while the remaining six would be playing in the plate league. The league toppers will contest in their respective league finals. Either way, each team will at least play eight matches apart from the finalIn a bid to give bowlers exposure to internationally-recognised cricket balls, the board has also made the use of Kookaburra balls mandatory for the tournament.Such measures have been taken by the board to revive national interest in the first-class game. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, but that interest seldom trickles beyond international matches – a far cry from the eighties and nineties when fans used to regularly flock the venues to watch players like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, etc. practice in the nets.Team previewsKarachi Whites and Karachi BluesKarachi is Pakistan’s biggest and the most successful regional cricket association having won the trophy 19 times. The city has two teams in the competition – Whites and Blues. The Whites are led by fast bowler Mohammad Sami and boast of prolific batsmen like Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Khalid Latif and Saeed Bin Nasir. The Blues, captained by former Test batsman Faisal Iqbal, have a promising fast-bowling line-up with Tanvir Ahmed, Tabish Khan and Anwar Ali.The Whites, more successful of the two teams with a hat-trick of titles between 1990 and 1992-93, won their last title in 2002 and last year, finished third in Division 2, while the Blues were led to their eighth title by Sami in 2009.BahawalpurAfter a successful debut in this season’s Faysal Bank T20 Cup, Bahawalpur are all set to make a return to first-class cricket after nearly a decade. Bahawalpur were the winners of the inaugural Quaid-e-Azam trophy in 1953 when they beat Punjab in the final. They won their second title in 1958. During the 200304 overhaul of domestic cricket, Bahawalpur were merged with the Multan region.Rehan Rafiq, an opening batsman who has played for WAPDA and Habib Bank in the absence of his native regional team, will lead the Bahawalpur side this season. The squad is relatively inexperienced and the team mainly relies on veteran allrounder Bilal Khilji, seamers Kamran Hussain and Mohamamd Talha.SialkotA renowned Twenty20 side, Sialkot won the 2005-06 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Golden League. Though they failed to defend their title the following year, they came hard to clinch it again in 2009.The combination of 20 players is centered on left-arm batsman Haris Sohail, who made 673 runs at 134.60 with four hundreds in the President Trophy for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. He was rewarded with a national call-up when the selectors chose him in the ODI squad for the India tour. Left-arm fast bowler Naved Arif, who immigrated to England last year, has returned to play for his native domestic side as an overseas player.Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, who has been serving a 12-week ban after testing positive for cannabis during his stint with Somerset, is back in action. Another promising left-arm spinner Raza Hasan was left out due to his career-threatening spine injury, which had also ruled out him from the ongoing tour of India.RawalpindiIt is always difficult to see a Rawalpindi side without Mohammad Amir and the dashing Mohammad Wasim but life goes on. A hugely talented side, Awais Zia, Umar Amin and Mohammad Nawaz are the spirit of the team now. Rawalpindi perhaps never were the favorites and have never won the title but the region is always busy in producing quality players for the national level.Umar Waheed, a promising middle-order batsman from the Under-19 circuit will kick off his first-class career this year while all-rounder Nawaz will have to shift gears after his showing for Pakistan U-19s last year. Zia, who has been desperately waiting for the trophy to start, is ready to take flight. Amin has already asserted his case in the President Trophy. He was the leading run-scorer, with 767 in nine matches at 45.11 and will be put through another test ahead of the South Africa tour.Lahore ShalimarIt has been more than ten years now since Lahore -believed to be the biggest nursery for national cricketers in the country – won a national title. The last time was in 2001. Like Karachi, Lahore also have two teams. They had a poor season last year, finishing second-last in Division Two, and managed to win only one match against Multan, who were glued tightly to the bottom with zero points. Shalimar suffered seven defeats with one drawn game against a depleted Quetta side.This year, they start their campaign after losing key players to the national side for the India tour, leaving Shalimar with the inexperienced lot. In the absence of Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz, Shalimar will have to rely on the veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf. Along with fast bowler Aizaz Cheema, Zia-ul-Haq and Mohammad Irfan will be the core of the bowling attack.PeshawarPeshawar have retained the core of the side that beat Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two last year. They were the underdogs but finished unbeaten in the division and were supposed to be promoted to Division One if the same structure had been followed this year.Peshawar are mainly centered on their batsmen Akbar Badshah and Mohammad Fayyaz, who were the second and third-leading run-getters in their division. Adding Israrullah to the mix makes it a formidable batting line-up. Their bowling attack is dominated by fast bowlers such as Imran Khan, the President Trophy’s third-leading wicket-taker, and Waqar Ahmed, who picked up 60 wickets last year for Peshawar.This year, they are entering the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with a reputation to carry on. They are certainly the favorites on paper and look good to finish among the top teams before going into the super-eight. They have earlier won the national championship in 1998-99 and 2004-05.